Chapter 1

• Bored. Zain tried one more time to flick the paperclip into the cup on the floor five feet away. He missed for the tenth time. He tried not to look at the clock again, but as soon as he thought it, he did.
• Sighing, he sat back and glanced at the door to the king’s office. Whenever he was away, it was dull here. He didn’t blame him for going away with his mate for a few days holiday. Zain just wished he wasn’t left sitting here. When he returned, he planned to throw himself at his feet and beg to see the Factory.
• The rest of his team and practically everyone else on Alliance teams were at the new secret factory. It wasn’t a secret for Zain. He’d known even before he was supposed to know. They’d left the blueprints out, and they’d been screaming, ‘look at me.’ So, he had. He wanted to be there with all of the others. If he wasn’t safe at a location with that many team members—he wasn’t safe anywhere.
• He hadn’t heard from Asher again, not since the calls about the injured cheetah woman. For nineteen years she’d been missing. He’d barely listened to the rest of the call because his head went to places he never wanted to revisit. He tapped his hand on the desk. Nineteen years. That was the number. That was when his happy-go-lucky life as a nine-year-old had taken a nosedive and crashed—hard.
• Zain needed everyone to get back on the road, do ops and rescues, transports, and all the other things they did. Then his phone rang all the time. Any hour of the day. It was his job to have everything where they needed, and sometimes, before they knew they needed it. He was good at his job, and right now, he had nothing to do.
• Getting up, he went over to the coffee machine and debated on making some. He’d already drank a pot full. More caffeine was probably not a good idea. On a normal day, he was moving non-stop. Today was not normal. It was just sad. One of the king’s tasty drinks it was.
• He went into the office quickly and over to the fridge under the long counter. Papers, folders, and binders were spread out all over it. Zain cringed as he glanced at it. If he put it all away on the shelves, the king would just call him in to find it all over again. Opening the fridge, he studied his options.
• His phone ringing had him spin around and rush back to his desk. He almost knocked the phone on the floor reaching for it.
• “Go for Zain.”
• “Zain. Have you heard from Shepard’s guards?”
• “No, Jesse. They’re with him, why would I…”
• “He’s missing.”
• Zain held the phone out and looked at it. He put it back to his ear. “He’s away with…”
• “No. He’s not. Devin got the call from his mother.”
• Zain braced his feet apart and stood there with his mouth open for a second. Jolting, he sat down in his chair and grabbed his list. “I’ll call…”
• “Zain, tell no one.”
• He tilted his head. “Shouldn’t we be putting out calls and rounding up people to go find…”
• “No. We don’t know how they found him. The only ones that knew his location were his guards.”
• Zain shook his head. “Well, clearly someone else knew.”
• “I was there when Devin got the call. He’s with Calum now…”
• “What about his mate? Our Queen. Shouldn’t we send…”
• “I don’t know. I just wanted to give you a heads up because if Devin decides to tell all the departments, things around here are going to get…”
• “Insane.” Zain scowled at the desk. He’d wanted something to do. This was not at all close to what he’d hoped for.
• “Listen, I have to go. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”
• Zain nodded. “Okay.” He stood up. “If you need anything, let me know.”
• “I will.” He hung up.
• Zain looked at his phone and then set it on the desk like it was an armed explosive. He stood up and turned around to look into the office at the empty desk. This was bad. This was so bad that he couldn’t even think of a word to describe how bad.
• “Okay.” He turned around and looked at his desk. “Don’t tell anyone. He’s still away on his getaway with his mate.” He nodded. That would only work for two more days, and then he was supposed to be here.
• He sat down at his desk and looked at it. There was nothing left for him to do right now. His eyes widened, and he stood up in slow motion. Aiden Tomas had their king. The whys and hows didn’t matter at this moment. With the king missing, he was obsolete. It wasn’t like he had to be in this office to coordinate with his team. The king had him in this office to keep him safe.
• “They’re going to find him.” He nodded. “They will.” He sat back down.
• “So, I should—” He looked around. “—do something…” His phone rang, and he wanted to cry in relief.
• “Hello?” He answered it quickly.
• “Zain. Raymond Hardy, here.” Like anyone could mistake his voice for someone else. “I heard Jesse called you, so I know you know.”
• “Yes—sir.”
• “Good. I’m told you know a lot. I need a list of the guards that were with our—Shepard Addison. Full files, send all the details.”
• Zain nodded. “I can do that. Where do you want me to send the information?” He opened the bottom drawer on his desk and took out his leather notebook, which was where he wrote all sorts of information.
• “Send it to Blaise, here at the factory.” There were voices in the background. “Do you have the information to do that?”
• He didn’t but could find out in a flash. “Yes.”
• “Good. I’ll be in touch.”
• “Oka…” He hung up. Zain set the phone down and opened the book. The guards rotated every two weeks. The ones that had switched off wouldn’t know about the—he looked at the phone. Why didn’t Raymond say our King? He opened his eyes painfully wide. “Devin is now acting king.” Zain sat back and rubbed his hands over his face. Was this where his adult life crashed and burned? He blew out a breath and sat forward again. The king made the decision spur of the moment, so only the guards with him would have known exactly where he was going to be. He nodded and flipped the page for the rotation schedule. Finding it, he grabbed a notepad, wrote the names down, and closed the notebook.
• “Okay.” Now, how did he get the files without anyone knowing? And how did he find out how to get them to Blaise? He laughed and then looked around. If his office was bugged—and he didn’t put it past Aiden’s spies, they’d think he was a half-wit. The answer was obvious. Illias. He would be able to get into the system and send it wherever. He frowned at his phone. Illias was probably at the factory with everyone else. His sentence for being in the wrong place at the wrong time seemed to have rewarded him with the coolest assignments.
• Clicking on his name, he typed with fast thumbs. Raymond Hardy—he paused. Why did everyone, himself included, always use the man’s last name? Honestly, how many Raymond’s did anyone know? Shaking his head, he looked back at the screen—wants files for guards on King’s detail. I can’t access this.
• He sat there looking at the phone because Illias replied faster than anyone he knew.
• Names? Was his reply.
• He glanced at the list and typed the four names into the phone.
• I’ll pull them up and show him.
• Zain rolled his eyes. He was right. Illias was at the factory.
• Thanks.
• He waited for a smart-alec reply because that was Illias’ MO.
• Don’t panic. They’ll find him.
• That was what he got instead. Blowing out a breath, he nodded. Of course, Illias would know where his head went when he heard. Trying not to.
• Stay put. Keep your eyes and ears on full scan.
• Zain grinned. Only Illias would say something computer-related for body parts. Okay. Shout if you hear anything.
• You too. He sent him a strong-arm emoji.
• Zain replied with one of the flying purple fairy emojis. Why? Because it was Illias, and he could. Before their lives changed, they had been best friends. Only left each other’s side long enough to take a bath and sleep.
• Eyes and ears on full scan. Basically, he was telling him to watch out for anything out of place, or that shouldn’t be happening. Zain snorted. Nothing for months around here was normal. The very fact that they’d caught people who had worked for the Alliance for years helping Aiden Tomas was a testament to that.
• “Don’t panic.” He whispered and then looked around like he’d see someone listening. “I can do this.”